Child health · UKMLA & AKT
Herpes labialis (cold sores)
A free high-yield preview for the UKMLA Applied Knowledge Test. Below are the key points to recognise herpes labialis (cold sores) — the full SA Note notes add investigations, management, complications and 10 practice questions.
Key high-yield points
- Caused by herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) - double-stranded DNA virus; latency established in the trigeminal ganglion
- HSV-1 = orolabial (cold sores); HSV-2 = primarily genital - either virus can infect either site, but HSV-1 is the answer for a painful lip lesion
- Reactivation triggers: UV light (most reproducible), febrile illness, stress, immunosuppression, trauma, menstruation
Syphilitic chancre (Treponema pallidum) is a PAINLESS ulcer - pain is the key discriminator favouring HSV.
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